Broken strikers do happen. I just had one break yesterday on an Ugartechea sidelock. It's from back in the 50's and a pretty high quality gun, much nicer than most of the Uggies sent to the States more recently. But nothing much wrong, at least according to many Uggie owners, on those guns either. Just that they were mostly made to a much lower price point. Then there's what you read above, and Cole Haugh is certainly a reliable source when it comes to sxs gunsmithing.
Mine doesn't show a lot of use, but if it's still the original striker on a gun that old, that's pretty good. I've had them break on Brit guns as well. Bought a Sauer from Fieldsport several years ago that required a hammer replacement because on that gun, the pin is part of the hammer. German guns have a reputation for being pretty rugged, but I managed to break the first Sauer I ever owned. Not the striker/firing pin, but rather the link between the top lever and the Greener crossbolt. That was after I'd had the chambers lengthened to 2 3/4" and fired quite a few 16ga Express 1 1/8 oz loads through it. That was the only thing that ever broke, over a span of about 20 years.
Sometimes it seems like you win the lottery. Then you get a gun with a really good reputation for reliability, and something goes wrong the first time out.
